Losing your muscle memory is a crazy feeling!

[ElRaja]

i dont post much in this section cos i really dont play much cricket, and havnt for a long long time, anyhoo to cut a long story short was invited to nets the other day, and ive bowled, i would guess, a cumulative 10 overs of leg spin over the previous twenty years, i could bowl everything as a kid, leggie, googly, slider, even flippers.

i knew id pbly be a bit rusty, however even i wasn't prepared for what happened next. one ball in the roof of the nets, the other on the left side, one drag down, one beamer, one double bounce lol. its a crazy crazy feeling cos in my head i can still bowl, but irl im worse than when i was 7 or 8 years old, lol. landed abt 3 in the right spot over 2 or 3 overs, before resorting to off spin just not to pi55 off the batsman, lol.

so just a little rant to get that off my chest, im hoping i get invited again tho, in my head if i have a solid few sessions i might still get it back, lol.

 

[Suleiman]

Very normal. Give yourself 1-4 sessions and it’ll come back.

You don’t lose muscle memory. Muscle memory is the built in mechanism for your body not to forget.

 

[ElRaja]

hopefully i get invited back and then can report on any progress, lol.

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

i dont post much in this section cos i really dont play much cricket, and havnt for a long long time, anyhoo to cut a long story short was invited to nets the other day, and ive bowled, i would guess, a cumulative 10 overs of leg spin over the previous twenty years, i could bowl everything as a kid, leggie, googly, slider, even flippers.

i knew id pbly be a bit rusty, however even i wasn't prepared for what happened next. one ball in the roof of the nets, the other on the left side, one drag down, one beamer, one double bounce lol. its a crazy crazy feeling cos in my head i can still bowl, but irl im worse than when i was 7 or 8 years old, lol. landed abt 3 in the right spot over 2 or 3 overs, before resorting to off spin just not to pi55 off the batsman, lol.

so just a little rant to get that off my chest, im hoping i get invited again tho, in my head if i have a solid few sessions i might still get it back, lol.

Keep practicing. it will come back. You don't lose your muscle memory.
I started playing again last year.. after a gap of 4-5 years. I could hit the meanest cover drive in my younger days... it is a sight to behold. It took me 6 matches, 2 ducks and lot of struggle to get back to my batting rhythm. Scored a 50 after those failures and just last week as 34(22 b) not out.. Finishing off the match in 17th over chasing 155 in 20 overs. Just practice and keep turning up. It will return.

 

[ElRaja]

got back into the nets earlier this week, slightly better, bowled about 4 or 5 overs, beat the batsmen two or three times on the outside edge, got three legit nicks too, but still accuracy was rubbish. 10 or 15 balls either wide or drag downs.

also felt really conscious about my action, like i wasn't repeating it everytime, some felt like they were coming out with slightly different grips, my arm speed didnt feel consistent either. might get to go again in a few weeks. will keep reporting on progress.

still feel a long way away from being able to bowl in a match, hopefully get to that level in a bit and might get a game or two at the end of the season.

 

[sweep_shot]

Almost same thing happened to me on July 7, 2024.

I haven't played any cricket since 2015. I saw 2 desi guys playing cricket and I asked them to allow me to bowl one. I bowled after 9 years. I was very rusty expectedly and bowled a waist-height juicy full-toss.

I definitely lost my muscle memory and control after not bowling for 9 years.

Anyway, I am 34 now and may not return to serious cricket. Used to play 40-over hard ball cricket.

 

[Mitin77]

Losing your muscle memory is such a strange experience! It feels like your body is betraying you, forgetting all those movements that once felt so natural. It's like having to relearn things from scratch, and it can be both frustrating and humbling.

 

[deltexas]

Actually T20 has been a great benefit the older you get atleast in my case. We play 40 over leather ball games and T20s. Much easier in T20's - go bash it and no time to think a lot unlike 40 over games. Plus its actually easier the older you get because you have fewer balls to face.

 

[ElRaja]

found an indoor net near my house and convinced a friend to come with me, surprisingly had a lot more control even though i havnt bowled for nearly a year. bowled 3 or 4 overs of leg spin and maybe only 5 or 6 wides, and one dropped short. trying a lot more to get on my toes and lead with my front arm down the pitch. even managed to land a googly, although the flight of the googly makes it very obvious. once control increases will try to increase pace a little bit. was a lot of fun.

 

[shaz619]

I returned to playing after a decade, thought rather than embarrass myself in the nets, lets get a 1:1 sorted.

I still had my old kit but apparently my gloves are not compliant with current standards so will need to invest in a pair and some cricket trainers.

I must say, when I opened my kit bag after so long, I don’t know if it was dopamine or something else; but I felt all warm & fuzzy, it wasn’t even nostalgia which can be quiet sad, but I just went back to my youth for a few moments. It just shows man, don’t give up your hobbies, when you stop living, that’s when you start dying.

On to the session which mainly focussed on Batting, I had some throw downs and everything full & straight was driven quiet well, I was very comfortable on the front foot and played some nice cover drives / on-drives to.

Then…..this is when it gets really interesting, I wasn’t handling length too well and kept missing everything which was wide.

Basically length & width were a problem and timing just not there against the bowling machine.

The drives and pull not too bad, but back-foot play and the cut were horrible along with the timing.

Hope to hold sessions once a month (not sure if that’d enough but no way would I do anything more than that). And I haven’t tried the bowling yet mainly a leg-spin googly bowler so will be interesting to see if my experience will match that off @ElRaja

@Suleiman @sweep_shot

 

[sweep_shot]

I returned to playing after a decade, thought rather than embarrass myself in the nets, lets get a 1:1 sorted.

I still had my old kit but apparently my gloves are not compliant with current standards so will need to invest in a pair and some cricket trainers.

I must say, when I opened my kit bag after so long, I don’t know if it was dopamine or something else; but I felt all warm & fuzzy, it wasn’t even nostalgia which can be quiet sad, but I just went back to my youth for a few moments. It just shows man, don’t give up your hobbies, when you stop living, that’s when you start dying.

On to the session which mainly focussed on Batting, I had some throw downs and everything full & straight was driven quiet well, I was very comfortable on the front foot and played some nice cover drives / on-drives to.

Then…..this is when it gets really interesting, I wasn’t handling length too well and kept missing everything which was wide.

Basically length & width were a problem and timing just not there against the bowling machine.

The drives and pull not too bad, but back-foot play and the cut were horrible along with the timing.

Hope to hold sessions once a month (not sure if that’d enough but no way would I do anything more than that). And I haven’t tried the bowling yet mainly a leg-spin googly bowler so will be interesting to see if my experience will match that off @ElRaja

@Suleiman @sweep_shot

Nice.

I stopped playing league cricket (40-over cricket) in 2015. After that, I never played again. It has been 11 years.

I used to have a nice CA PLUS 15000 bat. I used it for 2 seasons. Sold it to some desi cricketer.

I still do shadow batting and shadow bowling as those are my muscle memories.

Anyway, I am unlikely to return. I am now 35. I don't have the enthusiasm anymore like I had in my 20's.

 

[Suleiman]

I returned to playing after a decade, thought rather than embarrass myself in the nets, lets get a 1:1 sorted.

I still had my old kit but apparently my gloves are not compliant with current standards so will need to invest in a pair and some cricket trainers.

I must say, when I opened my kit bag after so long, I don’t know if it was dopamine or something else; but I felt all warm & fuzzy, it wasn’t even nostalgia which can be quiet sad, but I just went back to my youth for a few moments. It just shows man, don’t give up your hobbies, when you stop living, that’s when you start dying.

On to the session which mainly focussed on Batting, I had some throw downs and everything full & straight was driven quiet well, I was very comfortable on the front foot and played some nice cover drives / on-drives to.

Then…..this is when it gets really interesting, I wasn’t handling length too well and kept missing everything which was wide.

Basically length & width were a problem and timing just not there against the bowling machine.

The drives and pull not too bad, but back-foot play and the cut were horrible along with the timing.

Hope to hold sessions once a month (not sure if that’d enough but no way would I do anything more than that). And I haven’t tried the bowling yet mainly a leg-spin googly bowler so will be interesting to see if my experience will match that off @ElRaja

@Suleiman @sweep_shot

Nice man, tbh once you get busy you have time for 1-2 hobbies max, and iirc you said you do boxing or some other activity so will be hard to do cricket consistently even if just nets daily.

Once a month is good man as long as you find it challenging to the point it’s enjoyable.

I retired from the game in 2022, after bowling with a heavily bandaged and wrapped left arm due to rotator cuff issue but finished with 4 wickets, many no balls and a hatrick

, other team had a brother who played for Oman national team as well.

Even though I love to bat, and spent more time on that then bowling, fast bowling just came naturally to me, but having to choose between gym and cricket and that rotator cuff issue with my left shoulder, I chose the former since you can always work around injuries exercising but in terms of bowling it’s too rigorous on the shoulder joint so I’ve hung em up since.

Felt the nostalgia rush myself reading your post

 

[shaz619]

Nice man, tbh once you get busy you have time for 1-2 hobbies max, and iirc you said you do boxing or some other activity so will be hard to do cricket consistently even if just nets daily.

Once a month is good man as long as you find it challenging to the point it’s enjoyable.

I retired from the game in 2022, after bowling with a heavily bandaged and wrapped left arm due to rotator cuff issue but finished with 4 wickets, many no balls and a hatrick

, other team had a brother who played for Oman national team as well.

Even though I love to bat, and spent more time on that then bowling, fast bowling just came naturally to me, but having to choose between gym and cricket and that rotator cuff issue with my left shoulder, I chose the former since you can always work around injuries exercising but in terms of bowling it’s too rigorous on the shoulder joint so I’ve hung em up since.

Felt the nostalgia rush myself reading your post

No I agree, if I am honest I’ve only really had time for one hobby which is fiction writing/reading and even then not consistent, and beyond that doing the bare minim for fitness at home. But then it dawned on me that if I kept it that way, I will always be consumed by general life and we have a duty to our minds as well to keep it in check even if said activity is infrequent.

For sure best not to push old injuries, and pick/choose the battles there! And that’s a good spell to retire on And I’ve noticed that too with quick bowling there is so much rehabilitation needed that all the guys I knew who still play club cricket and use to bowl quick - they’ve converted to spin bowling.

That’s the feeling I will chase again aha it was like midnight when I put the helmet on and danced sideways Am not even bothered about the club stuff just getting to pick it up again & fine tune things is nice if I can keep it up

 

[ElRaja]

nice one @shaz619 , i decided to get two lads from work, and one who i went college with, we go nets weekly on a sunday morning for an hour. everyone gets to bat 15 minutes, and tbh with three bowlers non stop it is mentally fatiguing, we average about 50 balls per 15 minutes.

my batting was dire, i decided to video tape it and my bat was all over the place, my front foot was going no where, it was all a mess. i managed to straighted my bat swing, and saw a little improvment. although i still struggle a lot when its above 120 clicks.

i went back to bowling off spin due to a lack of control, working on getting through the full action, getting a little dip and turn, but nothing too dangerous. bowled an over of leg spin the other day and the control was definietly better, seriously considering going back to bowling leg spin.

the rest of my net mates include a 6'5 inch mystery spinner, a 6'2 inch left arm swing bowler (i cant play him for **** when he bowls 120+, even with kit the idea of a ball swinging into ur nuts is very off putting), and a young leggie whos only started learning how to bowl now. the tall guy is a pain to bowl to, he sweeps everything until u drop short then pulls or cuts, the swing bowler bats like mohamad yousuf, leans on everything and times is amazingly. the young guy is figuring out his technique and has started improving every session.

we also downloaded an app called full track which lets u record ur session, which is useful, but only lets u record 2 sessions before u have to pay a lot.

below is a progress of my bowling from when i started about two months ago (scale 100, 0 being beginner, 100 being international)
off spin -> control 20 to 55, pace 10 to 30, spin 15 to 30, dip 30 to 50
im considering going back to leg spin, lets see what happens next week

everything else notwithstanding, i have a lot of fun for an hour every week, and even though my friends want to join a team, i dont think im very good, so might give it a pass.